Section 5-4

1. Decline and Fall Preview of Events Section 5-4

2. Click the Speaker button to listen to the audio again. Section 5-5

3. The Decline A long period of unrest followed the death of the last good emperor, Marcus Aurelius, in A.D. 180.  For a period, Rome was ruled by the Severans, whose motto was “pay the soldiers and ignore everyone else.”  After their rule ended, between 235 and 284, Rome was ruled by whoever had the army to seize it.  There were 22 emperors during these years; many died violently. (pages 175–177) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-7

4. The Decline (cont.) Simultaneously, the Roman Empire suffered invasions by Persians and Germanic peoples.  Invasions, civil wars, and plague almost caused the Roman economy to collapse in the third century.  Trade and small industry declined, and there was a labor shortage due to plague.  Farm production declined on fields ravaged by invaders. (pages 175–177) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-8

5. The Decline (cont.) Money was short, but Rome needed soldiers more than ever.  By the mid-third century, the state was depending on hired Germanic soldiers.  They had no loyalty to Rome, nor did they understand Roman traditions. (pages 175–177) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-9

6. The Decline (cont.) At the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth centuries, the emperors Diocletian and Constantine revived Rome, founding a state called the Late Roman Empire.  It had a new governmental structure, a rigid economic and social system, and a new religion–Christianity. (pages 175–177) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-10

7. The Decline (cont.) Diocletian ruled from 284 to 305.  Believing the empire was too large to have only one ruler, he divided the empire into four sections, each with its own ruler, including himself.  His military power, however, made him the ultimate authority.  Constantine, who ruled from 306 to 337, extended many of Diocletian’s policies. (pages 175–177) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-11

8. The Decline (cont.) Both expanded the bureaucracy and enlarged the army to five hundred thousand troops.  Expanding the civil service and the military drained the treasury.  To fight inflation, Diocletian issued strict wage and price controls for the entire empire.  They did not work. (pages 175–177) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-12

9. The Decline (cont.) Both emperors issued edicts forcing people to stay in their jobs, which made basic jobs like being a baker hereditary.  Small, free farmers increasingly were in debt to large landowners. (pages 175–177) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-13

10. The Decline (cont.) In 324 Constantine became the sole ruler of Rome  His biggest project was constructing a new capital city in the east on the site of Byzantium on the shores of the Bosporus. Founded for defensive purposes, the city eventually was named Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). (pages 175–177) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-14

11. The Decline (cont.) Calling it his “New Rome,” Constantine filled the city with a forum, palaces, an amphitheater, and other signs of Roman and civic glory.  It became a center of the Eastern Roman Empire and one of the world’s greatest cities. (pages 175–177) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-15

12. The Decline (cont.) The policies of Diocletian and Constantine were based on coercion and control.  In the long run, therefore, they stifled the vitality Rome needed to revive. (pages 175–177) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-16

13. The Fall The empire restored by Diocletian and Constantinople continued for another hundred-plus years.  It had two capitals, Rome in the west and Constantinople in the east. (pages 177–178) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-18

14. The Fall (cont.) In the second half of the fourth century, Huns from Asia moved into eastern Europe and put pressure on the Germanic Visigoths. The Visigoths moved south, crossing the Danube into Roman territory.  Initially Roman allies, the Visigoths revolted and defeated a Roman army in 378.  More Germans crossed into Roman territory. (pages 177–178) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-19

15. The Fall (cont.) In 410 the Visigoths sacked the city of Rome.  In 455, another group, called the Vandals, also sacked the city.  Our modern word vandal comes from the name of this ruthless tribe.  In 476, the western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by the Germanic head of the army.  This event is usually taken as the fall of the Western Roman Empire.  The Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, continued on. (pages 177–178) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-20

16. The Fall (cont.) Many theories have been proposed to explain the fall of the Roman Empire: Christianity weakened Rome’s military virtues; Roman values declined as non-Italians gained prominent positions; lead poisoning from water pipes and vessels caused a mental decline; slavery held Rome back from advancing technologically; Rome’s political system proved unworkable.  Probably there is some truth in all or most of these explanations. (pages 177–178) Click the mouse button or press theSpace Bar to display the information. Section 5-21